Someday
by Smiling Mask
Summary: Howard Link is a Crow, a predatory bird that hatched for Central and will remain faithful to Central. However, when his own feelings betray his determined loyalty, what will he do? Would he be able to, someday, make things right again? COMPLETED
1. Chapter 00: The Song of Young Birds

_**-SOMEDAY-**_

_Title:_ Someday.

_Fandom:_ DGM fan fiction.

_Author:_ Smiling Mask.

_Beta readers: _rainbowbutterfly (deviantart), symbolism_egg (livejournal).

_Rating:_ T.

_Genre:_ Angst, Tragedy.

_Characters:_ Howard Link, Allen Walker.

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own DGM – Hoshino Katsura does, God bless her. "Someday" belongs to Nickelback. "Frozen", "Swan Song" and "Dark Wings" belong to Within Temptation. The storyline of this fan fiction, however, totally belongs to me.

_Summary:_ Howard Link is a Crow, a predatory bird that hatched for Central and will remain faithful to Central. However, when his own feelings betray his determined loyalty, what will he do? Would he be able to, someday, make things right again?

_Note: _This fan fiction was written when DGM was released to chapter 186. It may contain spoilers. Some details may turn out to be wrong at the release of the next chapters.

**---Chapter 00: The Song of Young Birds---**

_And how the hell did we wind up like this?_

_Why weren't we able_

_to see the signs that we missed_

_And try to turn the tables…_

_I wish you'd unclench your fists_

_And unpack your suitcase_

_Lately there's been too much of this_

_But don't think it's too late._

_(_From _Someday - Nickelback)_

"_Link… It's not too late to turn back."_

"_You are wrong, Walker. I have no other way to go. I can only… walk this path. Straight to hell."_


	2. Chapter 01: Hatching Bird

**---Chapter 01: Past – Hatching Bird---**

"_Come here this moment, Link!"_

Startled, the little boy spun around, turning his back to the flower pots which he was staring at with so much passion. The order was repeated, more firmly; and the boy hurried into the room beside the sunlit wooden balcony. His blonde hair stopped glittering and the green of his eyes became much less vivid as his small, slender form sank into darkness.

The room was wide, but it was only illuminated by a small candle which was placed in the middle, at the center of a circle decorated by Runes and other mysterious icons. A magical ring of some sort. Without wavering, the little boy stepped into the ring, then just stood there waiting silently until the darkness of the room materialized itself into a human form that appeared right beside him.

"_You should have replied more quickly, Howard", _breathed the man in the black coat. His voice came out muffled and echoing through the thick black mask he was wearing.

"_Many apologies", _replied little Howard Link in the same tone. One could hardly believe that such a voice could come out of a child's mouth. It was much more like the voice of a hundred-year-old demon that disguised itself something innocent in order to fool people. _"I was lost in thoughts."_

"_Just make sure it will not happen again. You wouldn't want to be late to the training session, would you?"_

"_Of course not."_

"_I shall get you prepared, then."_

Link nodded, standing as still as a statue when the man stripped him down to the waist. He then replaced Link's clothing with a white, multi-layered gown, and a long black robe on top of everything. An ornament of wooden and metallic beads was draped over the child's shoulders before the older man helped him to pull the robe's hood over his head. Finally, he brought out a black mask with a large white square design in the middle.

Closing his eyes, Link felt a burning, tingling sensation over his skin as the mask attached itself to his face. It took him a few blinks to familiarize himself with the complete darkness that his world had turned into. He felt a weight on his shoulder, the coldness of his elder's hand spread over his body, and the man's voice was soon to follow.

"_All set. We shall begin today's training."_

---

"_Have you studied the Binding Feathers Technique that we taught you last time, Howard?"_

"_Of course"_, replied Link, always so calmly, despite the fact that he was now surrounded by at least ten men, each of them double his size. Even though he couldn't see, he knew that they all were wearing the same uniform as him.

"_Very well then. Today, we shall train you with that spell. We shall attack you continuously with the Binding Feathers Technique, and you will have to dodge while fighting back with the same technique as well. Do you understand what I just said?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good. Then… Let's… begin!"_

---

"Such a bothersome child… Howard."

He opened his eyes, painfully dragging himself into consciousness. The bright light almost blinded his vision, and it took him several slow, dull blinks to recover from the shock. Everything was very white… He inhaled shallowly, smelling the hygienic scent of ethanol and clean sheets.

This must be the infirmary.

Link tried to turn to the side, but couldn't. His whole body was suddenly so heavy that he could hardly move a finger. He felt as if he was being weighted down by the warm, thick blanket he was securely tucked in. That nurse always overdoes things, he thought.

Such a realistic thought helped clear the dark clouds inside his mind. Link suddenly remembered why and how he got here. The Binding Feathers training. He was doing so well at first, dodging all the attacks without even having to see them. But someone scolded him, shouting that he must fight back, so he tried… The invocation was a burden to his young body; while chanting the spell he got hit at least twice by the others. He pushed himself still, trying hard enough and managed to release the spell at last, but the effort drained him to the point of losing his agility. He found no strength to move. Crawling over the floor, he kept getting hit until the spells wrapped all around him like a cocoon… And then his senses went blind.

"You didn't work hard enough, did you Howard?"

Link's vision focused into the face that was hovering over him. He could recognize the black hair, the rough features… and the infamous mustache that his elders always talked about with sour irony. He stared, "Inspector…"

"Oh, so you can still talk after all," said Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier coldly. The sharp glare sent a chill through Link's spine. The little boy shifted uneasily inside the blanket, feeling naked and exposed to these eyes.

"I… I am very sorry, Inspector…" was all he could manage to say.

"Apology won't help you get any better."

Link shut his eyes closed. Inspector Leverrier is always so harsh. But somehow, Link didn't feel hurt by those sharp words; only frustrated and irritated at himself. Ignoring the muscles twitching uncomfortably as he spoke, the little boy whispered,

"I will definitely work harder, Inspector."

"Very well then. I trust you", nodded the man. He then opened the box he was carrying with him, revealing some fresh scones. He set the box on the small table beside Link's cot, close enough for the boy to reach even in his weakened state. From where he was lying, Link could count the dried fruits on the surface of the scones. As he stared at the present, Inspector Leverrier flashed a brief smile, "You will fly higher than those Crows could ever reach… _Link._"


	3. Chapter 02: Growing Bird

**---Chapter 02: Past – Growing Bird---**

"Komui, who's that?"

From behind the black mask, fifteen-year-old Howard Link secretly scowled at the sword that was pointing at his face so closely that he could distinguish every design on that unique black blade. It was a beautiful Innocence, he thought, but the way its owner was using it bothered him.

The room was large. Bookshelves of all sizes lined the walls, surrounding him with massive stacks of overdue paperwork. As if that wasn't enough, more papers were spread over the floor, covering every single inch of tile and making it impossible to walk without stepping on them. In the middle of the room, there was a messy office desk, and in front of it, a sofa. Being too used to seeing flawlessly clean offices at Central, Link wondered how Supervisor Komui Lee could actually live and work in a place like this.

Said man was standing behind his office desk, talking to the young boy who held the beautiful Innocence that he was, sadly, waving around so rudely. Exorcist Kanda Yuu, they said, had attitude problems. Link could tell it was no joke just by looking at the angry black eyes and the permanent frown that carved small wrinkles on the Exorcist's forehead.

"It's rude to point, Kanda-kun," said Komui, and for a moment Link wondered about the suffixes. Even though Kanda was Japanese, Komui wasn't, so the Supervisor shouldn't be required to speak like that. Did Kanda demand that people speak to him in proper Japanese manners, or had the Supervisor chosen to do so? Link made a mental note to investigate it later. For the moment, he continued to listen to Supervisor Komui Lee's speech. "This member of the Crow was sent by Central. He will accompany you on your next mission."

"Crow?" Sharp black eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure you know about them. In fact, you have trained with them several times, if I'm not mistaken. The Crows are Central's combat unit. They are trained from a very young age and have excellent combat skills, including sorcery. The reports state that…" Komui magically picked the right paper from his desk and handed it to Kanda, "…our next target is guarded with high-level black magic, so it will be useful if you have a partner who actually _knows_ something about spells-"

"I'm not stupid. I know what a Crow is," protested the young Exorcist, who still hadn't withdrawn his sword yet. "Komui, you've gotta be fucking kidding me. Having a Finder tagging along is bad enough. I don't need a partner –Especially not a guy who wears a robe and is stupid enough to cover his own eyes."

The Crows had taught Link to stay calm, but they had also trained him to have quick reflexes and a sharp tongue.

"There is no need for such language, Exorcist Kanda Yuu. First, I assure you that my combat skills are fully qualified. I may not be able to destroy Akuma, but I can fight on equal terms with most of them. Second, our masks are designed so that we can see through them. But still, you should know that I could fight just as well with my eyes covered. And finally… I would rather _not_ receive comments about my clothing from a man who has a ponytail and wears a skirt."

"OI!" The Exorcist fumed and exploded even before Link finished his speech, "It's not a skirt! It's called a hakama, moron!"

"Kanda-kun, that's enough," snapped the Supervisor sharply, but Link could tell he was more worried than angry. "Please stop complaining. This Crow was assigned by Central, there's nothing I can do about it. Now, please get ready for your mission."

"About that, I totally agree. Exorcist Kanda Yuu, I shall wait for you in the hall. Please hurry." And with a bow, Link retreated, leaving the Supervisor all the time and privacy he needed to lecture the foolish Exorcist yet again about the danger of people from Central.

---

Close. Too close.

From his hiding spot, Link threw a quick glance around the battlefield. He counted. Fifteen Level 1 Akuma were hovering over the ground, while a Level 2 kept stomping around angrily, looking for its opponents. The Finder and the Exorcist were, thankfully, nowhere to be seen. Leaning onto the wall, the young Crow let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding.

He'd been told that Exorcist Kanda Yuu had little respect for Finders. It had been most unexpected to see the Japanese doing what he just did-

Link's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hard lump of metal landing on top of his head. He reached up.

Kanda's wireless golem.

The golem's sole black eye blinked at him. The Finder's voice could be heard through static noises; the signal dropped from time to time, but immediately reestablished itself at every bat of the golem's eyelid. For some reason, Link had the vague feeling that he could hear the Exorcist's heavy panting, even though that should have been impossible because of the damage to the communication device.

"_Sir- Can you hear me-?"_

"_Positive. What is the status of the Exorcist?"_

"_Kanda-sama is still alive. He took the blow at full force, but he's already recovering. He's still unconscious, though."_

"_How careless of him." _Link couldn't stop himself. _"Getting himself injured at a time like this…"_

"_P-Please don't blame Kanda-sama, Sir!"_ the Finder quickly protested, _"If it wasn't for him, I would have died-"_

"_He should know, as should you, Finder, that even the life of a human can never be as important as the final result of a battle against Akuma. You should be proud to sacrifice yourself to the Church-"_

"_Shut it already, Crow," _the Exorcist suddenly growled; his voice weak but every word edged with his unmistakable attitude, _"I can still fight. These Akuma won't be a problem."_

"_B-But, Kanda-sama…"_

"_I said, you can all shut up!" _yelled Kanda.Link could hear the Innocence sword clanking; its owner was probably leaning on it for support as he stood. _"Whenever you're ready, Crow."_

"_Very well then."_


	4. Chapter 03: Deceived Bird

**---Chapter 03: Deceived Bird---**

"_Inspector Howard Link… I have a mission for you."_

…

_I have contributed… in the making… of a new kind of human sacrifice._

---

"… You know them, don't you?"

Link looked up.

It was past midnight, but the young Inspector hadn't finished writing his reports yet. He had been hunching over his office desk for hours, filling one paper after another with fine, italic handwriting. His eyes began to hurt, for he had reduced the lamp's light so that it wouldn't bother Allen Walker, who was supposed to be sleeping on the bed behind him. The boy's steady breaths animated the silent darkness around him, and Link let that peaceful sound soothe the insecure feeling that was born, and reborn, every time he flipped to a new page. Even though he was deeply concentrating on the reports, from time to time Link found himself wondering at the lack of Allen's ever so quiet snores or the indecipherable words he usually mumbled in his sleep. Finally Walker decided to speak, and from his tone Link could tell he had _not_ been sleeping at all.

"… You know them, don't you?"

Still holding the pen in his stiff fingers, Link rested one elbow on the back of his chair and turned to meet a pair of gray eyes peeking at him from under layers of blankets. He sighed, "One hour and thirty-five minutes ago, you said you were going to sleep. Why are you still awake now, Walker?"

"I can't fall asleep," replied the boy, and Timcanpy too shifted on the mattress, fluttering his wings in agreement. Allen then repeated his question, "Do you know them, Link?"

"Who?"

"The crimson-cloaked people from Central… You know the big guy's name, right? And they know yours too… Not to mention they even have the same red dots on their foreheads…"

"What if I do know them then? I don't see your point, Walker."

"They must be your comrades… aren't they?"

Without a warning, memories streamed into Link's mind, blinding his vision with blurred images, pieces of jigsaw that he could never fit together. The Inspector turned back to his papers and spoke to the lamp in front of him. "I suppose it is relatively correct to use the word 'comrade' after all."

"What do you mean?"

_I meant, Walker, that I never had the chance to experience the comradeship that you live everyday. _"I can't talk about it."

"Oh," was all Allen could manage. He fell silent, and for awhile the only sound in the room was the scratching of the tip of Link's fountain pen against paper. Then the white-haired boy tried again. "Link?"

"Yes?" said the Inspector with a vague hint of resignation in his voice.

"What do you think about them? The Third Exorcists, I mean."

It was perfect, frozen silence now. Allen watched as Link hunched his shoulders slightly, as if the pen in his hand had suddenly turned into something that weighed tons and took all his effort just to move.

"I…" Link began slowly, considering his words, "…am glad that the experiment was successful, and that now we have considerable reinforcement for our fight against the Earl and his minions. We witnessed the functioning of their Consuming Machine, and it was quite convincing. I'm sure more of them should be-"

"More? Are you saying that it's fine for you that more people are made into half-Akuma?" Allen emerged from his blankets cocoon and crawled on the bed to get closer. "I don't know how did they manage to do a thing like that, but it sure isn't right!"

"It… is unavoidable. We don't have enough Exorcists, and-"

"I know, I know, we can't afford to lose in this fight against the Earl, right? But it doesn't mean that we have to win at _all_ costs! If we won by doing the same thing as the Earl-"

"We _do _have to win at all costs, Walker."

"Don't just sit there saying ridiculous things with your back facing me, Link. You know it's not right – I know you don't feel right. You've been quiet all day and you have that gloomy look and all- What do you really think about it?"

Link swallowed. "You are talking nonsense, Walker. I just told you what I really think."

"You're just stubborn." Allen's hand came to rest on his shoulder, "Look at me and say that again, say that it's fine to make human sacrifices."

Allen was sure he could feel Link twitching at his touch, but he just left his hand there. They played a little game of patience, each of them waiting for the other to give up first. Minutes passed without a word; then finally, Link sighed and looked up at Allen's face:

"In a war, there are always sacrifices to be made, Walker."

"You-"

"No, seriously, Walker. If people are to be sacrificed in any way, I shall pay them proper homage for what they have done, but I shall not shed tears and mourn for their death. Pain is to be forgotten, for the living have to keep moving forward no matter what. If it turned out that one of your friends, Lenalee Lee or Kanda Yuu, were to be sacrificed for the final objective, I shall follow Central's orders, capture them and send them wherever they are needed. If _you _were to be sacrificed," the young Inspector's pale green eyes glittered under the dim light, "I would make sure you ended your life as a sacrifice. If _I _were to be sacrificed," Link's hand clenched into a fist, "I would do so at once, without hesitation, without a complaint."

His face paled. Allen was unconsciously tightening the grip of his left hand on Link's shoulder, causing the bones to crush together painfully. When he realized what he was doing, he withdrew his hand in haste, staring down at his bare feet on the cold floor.

"Keep moving forward… You're saying the same words, but you got it all wrong… I don't get it. I _can't_ get it, how your mind works. What is it that you fight for…?"

"We fight to destroy the Earl and the Akuma-"

"Oh, quit it already! I'm asking you what you fight _for_."

"… The Order, of course."

"Wrong!" Allen's head jerked up, "We fight for people. For Akuma. For the souls of the dead and the sake of the living. For the ones we love. Tell me, Link, if we sacrificed everything we have… then… the world that we're fighting for… what would be there? What would be left there?"

"I understand how you feel, but this is war we're talking about-"

"You're always so smart, but you don't understand a thing. I wouldn't blame you, though… Have you ever, ever, said something that you really mean? Have you ever lived for yourself?"

Link replied quietly, "I live and fight for Central, Walker."

"Exactly. That's the problem. You are insane."

"Walker."

"Yes?"

"… Go to bed."

Allen didn't protest, nor did he question Link's sudden change of attitude. Bidding him good night, he crawled into his bed again and pulled the blankets over his head. He breathed, steadily and loudly, and even snored, as if putting up a tag that said 'I'm-sleeping-because-you-told-me-to-so-don't-bother-me', to stop in advance all attempts to revive the discussion. Staring at the lump, Link knew that it was already impossible to correct his previous words. But it wasn't like he wanted to. Sighing once again, Link too crawled into his bed. He just lay there with his eyes wide opened, staring at the shivering light that slowly vanished into thick, liquid darkness.


	5. Chapter 04: Blind Bird 1

**---Chapter 04: Blind Bird – 1---**

"Supervisor, incoming report-"

"Give it here," snapped Komui, leaning forward onto his office desk to snatch the papers from Reever's hand. The Section Chief wondered at the Supervisor's sudden enthusiasm towards paperwork, and then he noticed that his superior was sweating. A lot.

"… Supervisor, what's wrong?"

"Damn it, there's just more of them!" shouted Komui, slamming the bundle of papers on his desk, causing his cup of coffee to fall off and shatter, spilling the dark liquid all over the paperwork on the floor. Bringing a hand to his mouth, he began to bite his thumbnail in furious anxiety, "Dear Lord… What have I done? I have no idea… Reports about that district keep coming… More and more Akuma are discovered… And I only sent three of them!"

---

"Get down!"

Allen Walker's familiar voice was ripped apart by the sound of an Akuma's machine gun. Finder Maosa found himself almost just wondering what was happening, when the white figure leapt to him like a ghost and encircled him in its secure embrace. Maosa could feel the impact of Akuma bullets hitting Crown Clown's cloak, but he wasn't hurt.

"Master Exorcist!" shrieked the Finder in terror, "You mustn't do this, it's too dangerous! Just leave me-"

"Don't you start talking nonsense, Maosa!" Allen Walker shouted in reply, "If you die here, Miranda's going to cry! All day! And Chaoji, too! Don't you dare die in front of me!"

"Crap, they keep coming out of nowhere!" With a swing of his size-shifting hammer, Lavi knocked the Akuma into a building then leapt closer to cover Allen and Maosa's back. "To think there are this many Akuma in just one district of London!"

For once, Kanda Yuu actually seemed to agree with his partners. "I'm so going to hit that curly bastard on the face once I get back," he grunted angrily, slicing a Level 2 into halves.

"Finder Maosa, I suggest that you move away from the line of fire!" Inspector Howard Link pulled the Finder out of Crown Clown's cloak, snarling, "If you are unable to help, please at least don't be a burden. Would you be so kind and help the townspeople evacuate?"

He pointed, with both his finger and the switchblade on his wrist, at a group of people who gathered together fearfully inside the other Finders' barrier. Maosa obeyed, running towards them with his talisman held high. Allen only had the time to throw a glance after the Finder he just saved, before leaping backwards to evade yet another blow from another Akuma.

"_Edge End: Claws of Destruction!"_

The Akuma was torn apart; its oily blood splattered everywhere like crimson rain coming down in torrents. Link jumped aside to avoid that poisonous substance, but the Akuma were expecting him. Just where he landed, he found himself face-to-face with a Level 3.

"_For a normal human, you survived pretty long." _It dared to praise him using that mocking tone, as if thinking he was a five-years-old who is stupid enough to get provoked. _"Let's see how long you can make it!"_

The Akuma's belly tore open into a black, seemingly endless hole from where ominous, lizard-like hands shot out, charging directly at the young Inspector. Not wanting them to get too close, he decided to retreat, but no matter how many turns he made, the hands kept following hot on his heels.

"Link!"

At the end of the street, Allen Walker appeared, with his sword in hand, like a savior. Concentrating all his strength to his legs, Link threw himself forwards, faster and faster. The hands also speed up and more of them had been shot out; he could hear them hissing hotly through air behind him. Suddenly, he crouched over, curled up, and rolled like a stone until he bumped against the collapsing wall of a nearby house. Not having the time to think about the injuries he just got, Link looked up to see where the Akuma's Dark Matter had gone. Allen was currently chopping them down, five at a time, with his Innocence sword, and Kanda had just succeeded in impaling the Akuma's skull with Mugen.

"Watch out!"

Kanda didn't need Lavi's warning to be alarmed; he had caught the dying Akuma's movements and had expected its final attack. Arching his body gracefully, the black-haired Exorcist barely managed to avoid it. The Dark Matter hands only grazed his torso, but then again there was something terribly wrong…

"The townspeople!"

Allen cried out in terror and swung himself towards the Finders' glowing barrier on Clown Belt, but he wasn't fast enough. The Akuma hands shot past Kanda and hit the barrier, hard, and soon the talismans shattered in the Finders' hands. With no barrier, this small group of people, men, women and children, was left wide opened to all Akuma attacks.

"We have to evacuate them before more Akuma come!" Allen scanned the streets with his left eye, trying hopelessly to find a direction to which the cursed eye didn't react, but failed. "Not good… It looks like we're completely surrounded."

"It appears so. Komui's order is to retreat." Kanda landed next to Allen; the black golem perched on the Japanese boy's shoulder. "There are too many for just the three of us."

"Right, I'm going to create a Gate. Lavi, please tell the Finders to bring those people here…"

"I can't agree, Walker." Link placed his hand on top of Allen's, stopping the boy's movements, "You are not yet authorized to operate the Ark at will-"

"Are you insane, Link?" The white-haired boy swept Link's hand off and stared at him with angry eyes, "There's no time to talk about such absurd rules!"

"There are reasons!" retorted the Inspector, "Last time in France, you failed to create a Gate because of the enemies' barrier. We don't know what else they can do. What if they can track the Ark? What if they can move it to some unknown dimension and leave it there? What if-"

"Of course I don't want to get stuck inside the Ark again, but this is survival we're talking about! Central wouldn't want so many Exorcists to die in the same day, correct?"

At this point, Link was shocked. _Since when did you learn to argue like that? _He stared, trying to find irony in Allen's eyes. And he found not only hurtful irony, but also some kind of challenge. Once he found it, he had to suppress a thrill, the feeling of falling into a dark, bottomless well with no way out, for he knew it was impossible, _impossible _to rewind time, to make things right again…

But still, he spoke, and he almost wondered at his even tone. "In that case, I must insist that you don't bring the townsfolk inside the Ark-"

"I beg your pardon?" Allen, even though so gentle and obedient in nature, now began to fume, "Are you telling me to leave them here to die? I know you are insane, but I had no idea-"

"There may be Brokers among them." Link raised his voice to overcome Allen's ranting, "I'm quite impressed by your capacity to tell Akuma apart from people, but I doubt that you could tell those traitors of mankind apart from harmless townspeople. This whole thing could possibly be the Earl's scenario, and we wouldn't want to play right into his hands-"

Link stopped, because Allen had slapped him. With his left hand. Hard.

"There again you're so smart, so smart…" The boy's white hair hung down the sides of his face, so Link couldn't see his expression, but he couldn't possibly misunderstand the feelings in that shivering voice, "Tell me… It must be great… to be always so calm, so cautious… to be able to think so thoroughly… to be so uninvolved… Tell me the truth, Link…" Allen's fists shivered slightly with each word, "Just, are you still even _human_…?"

Howard Link could not reply to that question. Time froze, and he just stood there, staring down at a fallen brick that lay next to his feet. No one said a word, not Lavi, not even Kanda. From there, the world around them seemed to be deprived of all sound, color and motion.

And then the spell was broken by the Akuma's gunshots, by the screaming of men, women and children, by the disgusting sound of human bodies shattering into nothingness. Time flowed again; memories faded, and Link did not remember how they ended up slipping inside the newly-created Gate, dragging behind them as many living people as they could. He did not remember if it was real, or it was just his imagination, that Bookman Junior had turned to him, when they got out of the Ark and entered the lounge, looking at him with a single green eye, murmuring, _You are just another blind bird…_

**A/N: **Many thanks for the ones who cared enough to review and to add my story to their alerts! I try to reply to every review I got, but of course I can't do that (mostly because I don't know what to say -fails-) So please just know that I'm very thankful, and hope you enjoy reading!

P/s: Credit page has been changed (again) Please check, if you find it necessary.


	6. Chapter 05: Blind Bird 2

**---Chapter 05: Blind Bird – 2---**

_What can be found beyond this void?_

_I'll find out if I ever stop falling…_

---

"And these must be the reports- Thank you for your hard work, Inspector Howard Link."

Link replied to Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier's words with a bow of his head, and then fell silent. For a while he just stood there with his eyes glued to the floor, until Leverrier's voice rang out again, so suddenly and dangerously near that he had to back off a few steps,

"Is something troubling you, Inspector Howard Link?"

"No." He shook his head. "Not at all, sir."

"Is that so," said Leverrier with a frown, "These bruises and scratches on your face have something to do with Allen Walker, don't they?"

"Of course not, Sir. I assure you, if Walker had done something like that, I would have finished reporting to you by now." Link felt the need to leave Leverrier's office at once. "If you'd excuse me- it's about time I go to Supervisor Lee's office for mission briefing…"

"True, you should get going. I made sure that Agent Madarao and Agent Tevak are coming, too."

Again Link didn't reply. He saluted and walked to the door. Just when he put his hand on the knob, he heard Leverrier calling out again, "Inspector Howard Link, you _do _remember what we fight for, don't you?"

"Of course, sir." Link didn't turn back, "We live and fight for Central."

"That is right. And if we are to make a sacrifice.…"

"… we shall do so, without hesitation."

"True enough. Now get going."

It seemed ages and ages ago that Allen had slapped him, that Allen had told him _"Are you still even human?" _As he shut the door closed behind his back, Link had a clear feeling that he had forcefully and violently separated himself from Allen Walker's path. In this wide world ruled by the wheels of fate, they were now no more than two little human beings wandering in opposite directions, towards different dimensions. Facing different destinies. Sweeping his thumb lightly across his swollen cheek, he heaved a sigh then started heading for Komui's office.

"It looks like it hurts."

Link looked up to find in front of him Exorcist Lavi and Exorcist Kanda Yuu. The Japanese was leaning nonchalantly against the wall with his arms crossed, while the redhead was sitting flatly on the floor, his long legs bent into an awkward angle. Apparently they had been there for a while. Link chose to ignore and walked past them, but Lavi never gave up. "Had enough of selflessness yet?"

Link glared. "I'm afraid I don't see your point, Exorcist Lavi."

"I wouldn't complain if you are just so proud and so eager about throwing away your own life." He shrugged. "But now that you're telling people to throw away their lives, I must say that I'm concerned."

"I never told anyone to throw away their life-"

"Just not yet. Not to mention you did tell someone to throw away other people's lives, it's just the same."

---

"_Shouka… Kinki Sangenshiki… _Let's go, Mugen._"_

"Kanda!"

Allen cried out in surprise, watching Kanda's figure all but disappear into a rapid blur of movement. The Japanese Exorcist flung himself forward; the pale white light that formed _Nigentou _fluttered like wings behind him. It was hard _not_ to notice that the Twin Illusion Blades' color had degraded from dazzling azure blue to this pitiful misty shade of white. Allen didn't know how long Kanda could keep up with this, and the Japanese would not answer even if he asked, but he was sure it wouldn't be too long.

Leaning into the wall he was hiding behind, he tried to catch his breath and asked, "Lenalee, how's Lavi?"

"I can't stop the bleeding. That wound is so deep; he won't be able to move at this rate…"

Lenalee's face was unbelievably pale as she spoke emptily, blood trickling down from her temple and leaving crimson tracks all over her face. She put her right hand on Lavi's heaving chest; her left arm just hung uselessly to the side, her wrist twisted into a painful position. But then again, thanks to her agile method of fighting with Dark Boots, Lenalee was the one who bore the fewest injuries of them all. Allen himself had a deep cut across his stomach – in fact, he thought his stomach would have been sliced open if it hadn't been for his iron belt buckle – several gashes on his face and legs, a dislocation of the shoulder, and severe bruises on his right arm, which had withstood such vigorous impacts that it shook visibly every time he forced it to lift the cross-marked sword. Lavi's situation was even worse; even though he was still clinging tightly onto his size-shifting hammer, he was barely conscious. The red hair was tainted with a fiercer crimson color as the wound on his skull continued to leak; his body was covered in glass shards, one of which had almost found its way to destroy the single green eye he had left. A frighteningly long shard of glass lay by his side, never moved from where it had been thrown after Allen removed it from Lavi's leg.

"Lavi." Allen crawled to his comrade's side, muttering yet again those meaningless words. "Are you all right?"

"Hey, Allen…" The redhead's smile was a painful sight; his eye was hazy; his voice slurred. "Ya look like ya're doin' pretty well, huh…." He shifted a bit, and Lenalee hastily adjusted the position of his head so that it still rested securely on her lap, "Ah won't pretend this weren't a punch right on tha face…. Gettin' ambushed on our way to the mission an' all…"

"I know." Allen's mouth formed a smile. "The Order should know better where they are sending us.…"

"It looks like every single Akuma in London is expecting us. It's fortunate that we came as a relatively powerful team." Lenalee threw a quick peek at the battle field. Kanda, Marie, and Chaoji had taken down some Level 3s and were currently fighting a Level 4, and General Tiedoll's puppet had just sent another Level 4 flying across the scene. "I wish Miranda was with us, with her here we could have continued fighting…."

"You mustn't rely too much on Exorcist Miranda Lotto's Innocence, Exorcist Lenalee Lee." A voice rang out from nearby, causing Lenalee to look up in alarm and Timcanpy, who was perching on her shoulder, to take to the air, fluttering his wings nervously. The Third Exorcists, Tevak and Madarao, were walking towards them, dragging behind them the lifeless body of Inspector Howard Link. Their crimson cloaks rustled softly as they came nearer, and they bent over to rest Link gently against the wall. Once done, they took a few steps back. Madarao kept his facial expression devoid of all sentiments, but Tevak looked slightly thoughtful.

"He used to be the strongest of us all…."

"Nah, I think he's just reached a new level of absurdity," spat Allen, glancing at the man besides him. The Inspector's eyes cracked open, but apparently his vision hadn't focused yet. The bruises on the nape of his neck must have been the cause of his temporary loss of consciousness, but his other wounds were far more worrying. Both his sleeves had been burned up, revealing the burns and the gory gashes that ran up his forearms. Crimson blood marked another wound on his right thigh; even though deep, the injury looked like it had started to clot.

"How come you guys are here too? You look like you can still fight instead of retreating."

"For the moment, we'll just let the Exorcists do their job. Unlike a certain someone." Madarao sent a disapproving look towards Link's direction. "We find it unreasonable to keep on fighting while we are in no condition to. Sorcery barely has effects on high-level Akuma, and my Consuming Machine as well as Tevak's has reached its limits."

_Reasonable enough, _thought Allen. At the beginning the Third Exorcists have been quite effective. After dealing a certain amount of damages on an Akuma, they could proceed to consume it without difficulty. However, after a while, what was left of their human bodies refused to take in more of those devils. If they didn't stop, at least for a while, there would be no telling what would happen next.

"We're pretty much screwed." Allen couldn't help himself from peeking at the battlefield every five seconds to make sure the others didn't need his help yet. "Guess I'll have to worsen my position again-"

"You can't, Walker." Link had now regained his voice. "These members of Crow have detected the same barrier that kept you from creating the Gate last time. However, we couldn't find and remove the source, and therefore it's impossible to operate the Ark."

Even though Link spoke with such composure, Lenalee couldn't help but notice that he was contradicting himself. He referred to Tevak and Madarao as "members of Crow" as if he wasn't one himself, and then occasionally said "we" to include himself in. This discovery would have bothered her, but right now, Lenalee had other preoccupations. She fixed her look on the Inspector and asked,

"What do we do then? None of us is in a condition to fight… Lavi lost so much blood… We need to rest, at least…"

"What do we do…." Link repeated Lenalee's words unconsciously, his head rocking back and forth slightly as he lost himself in thought. "What to do…" He had his pale green eyes fixed on Allen as the boy stood up to ward off a Level 3 who dared to venture near the injured people.

_If there were sacrifices to be made…_

"There is a spell," said Link finally. "But it's going to draw attention…"

"Well?" yelled Allen from some meters away, "What is it like?"

"I… I can't tell you. Just trust me."

"Trust you? How do you expect me to _just_ trust you?"

Link let his words flow out without emotion. "There's nothing you have to worry about, Walker, this is not a situation in which Exorcists have to be sacrificed, and there are no other humans here-"

_If among us all there was one to be sacrificed…_

"Whatever you guys are planning over there, hurry up!" yelled Chaoji desperately, covering his ears, trying to protect himself from the _Akuma Kyou. _"We don't have forever!"

"Right." Link mechanically pulled himself up and turned to Lenalee, "Lenalee Lee, I beg your pardon…"

He attached a piece of paper with a big rune character in the middle to Lenalee's sleeve. He shoved another one inside Lavi's pocket, then sent two others flying towards Allen and Kanda. The seals immediately attached themselves to the Exorcists' backs, growing roots like some kind of parasite. All preparation done, the Inspector turned to Lenalee:

"I would like you to draw the Akuma's attention, if you would be so kind-"

"Of course." The girl carefully slid Lavi's head off her lap and stood up, activating Dark Boots, "But Link… Just what are you-?"

Unfortunately there was no time for explanation – as soon as Lenalee revealed herself, Akuma came for her. She took off, and, with a speed that rivaled sound waves, flew away, drawing a small cloud of Akuma after her. Link then sunk to his knees and began chanting the incantation. Tevak eyed him from a distance, squinting a little when wind began to blow and throw handfuls of dust all around. When the wind became a hurricane and a white light started to leak out from Link's body, she took some steps closer and asked,

"… That spell, are you sure? Even you – the best spell caster among us – are not able to withstand it…"

"I have to do this, Tevak."

The girl nodded curtly. "May your soul rest in peace, Howard."

With that, the blonde girl flung herself away and charged at a Level 3 who had his Dark Matter aimed at Link. Madarao accompanied her, not even looking back at the comrade he had left behind. Soon Link's world became empty; the only sound he could hear was his own incantation and his own heartbeats.

_What a pity, Walker… I did hope I could make things right again, someday…_

_Unfortunately… If among us all there was one to be sacrificed…_

_It would be me._


	7. Chapter 06: Missing Bird

**---Chapter 06: Missing Bird---**

_I can't feel my senses, I just feel the cold._

_All colors seem to fade away._

_I can't reach my soul._

_I would stop running if I knew there was a chance._

_It tears me apart to sacrifice it all, but I'm forced to let go._

_When lies turn into truth, I sacrifice for you._

_You say that I am frozen, but what can I do?_

_(_From _Frozen – Within Temptation)_

---

He called out for him.

He cursed him for being such an idiot – such an _idiot._

He wanted to shout that he was damn right – that he couldn't trust him at all.

He tried to grab him and pull him back so that he could punch him hard on the face-

But he couldn't.

Allen Walker couldn't do anything. He couldn't come after him, like he had come after Lenalee when she was abducted by the Earl. This time, he just stood there, reaching towards something in mid-air, and watched as Link collapsed like a paper doll, folding on himself. He could only stand there, watching, as the Akuma rolled Link's still body over with a kick before picking him up and flew away, disappearing into the falling veils of night. The Inspector's eyes were wide open, but Allen couldn't tell if Link could see him or not.

"What happened?"

He turned to the Third Exorcists, his hand clenching his sword's hilt painfully. He stared at the red dots on their foreheads, feeling so much rage and hatred building up inside of him, urging him to direct the twisted emotions into his fists, to punch these Crow members with all his might. Hell, if he could, he would have already done so – anything to beat those expressionless masks of their faces.

But then again, he needed their explanations.

He needed to know what that blazing white light emitted from Link's body was. He needed to know what the seal that had been stuck on his uniform was. He wanted to know what those bloody runes meant, and why they had been fading away with each passing minute. Why he couldn't touch Link with his human hand. Why his sword just flowed through the Akuma's body without doing it any harm. Why-

"Deactivate your Innocence, Allen," Froi Tiedoll commanded softly. The General too had been eyeing the crimson-cloaked Central agents through his cracked glasses. "Let us all sit down and listen to what they have to say."

Allen stood there fuming for another minute, still half-tempted to slice Madarao with his exorcising blade. But then Lenalee put a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked at her, she shook her head. Her pleading eyes banished his rage, and he deactivated Crown Clown, then sat down in front of the Third Exorcists.

"Well?"

The Crows exchanged a look, and then Madarao started speaking. "The incantation that Inspector Link released prevents the Akuma from discovering us." He looked at the pieces of paper stuck on Allen, Kanda, Lavi, and Lenalee's uniforms. "These four seals formed a barrier in which we are safe from them. They can't see us, smell us, sense your Innocence, or detect us in any other way. However, the effect of the incantation only last until the characters on the seals fade away-"

"I see." Allen interrupted him. "And what happened to Link?"

It was Tevak who answered. "The protection of the spell is perfect; however, it does require payment. The caster is totally separated from the people he protects. He won't be able to move until the effect of the spell fade; he can't see you nor hear you; he can't be touched by you… He can't be saved."

"… In other words," said Lavi, who had thankfully regained his consciousness, "he has to die?"

"Eventually."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" shouted Allen. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"Howard Link was aware of his actions. I believe he did what he thought is best-"

"Bullshit- I can't understand you guys anymore! Can this possibly be real?"

"Quit shouting, Moyashi," said Kanda. "If you think you can change the attitude of people from Central with words alone, you are wrong."

"Well, at least I try!"

"Allen, please, you're being unreasonable." Lenalee cut him off with a slight expression of impatience, her injured hand making a stiff movement. "I completely understand how you're feeling right now, but throwing a tantrum isn't going to do any good." She knew her words had considerable effect, so she continued. "What we have to do now is to figure out how to get us out of this… situation."

"And to rescue the Inspector, of course," added Lavi hastily. "Now, let's see… Basically, we're inside two barriers – The enemy's, and Link's. Maybe Moleface didn't realize it, but the protection he had granted us only gives us a chance to recover, not to retreat. Yuu checked – we still can't get out of this area. We can't contact with the Order either, which is weird, because the communication between us is still perfect." He tapped Kanda's golem, causing a buzz to emit from Allen's earring. "Even if the Order decides to find us, they won't be able to get in here unless they remove the enemy's barrier first…"

"Which is impossible," said Tevak, "because this time, the enemies had the source of their sorcery hidden _inside _the barrier itself."

Marie shook his head. "In other words, we are all by ourselves?"

"But…" said Chaoji, after a long moment of hesitation, "… The Akuma… I wonder why they didn't kill the Inspector… They usually don't take prisoners, right? Why do you think they took him?"

The small group fell silent for a while, and then General Tiedoll began to speak, slowly, considering every single word. "… Maybe they don't want to kill him yet. Inspector Link was able to detect their barrier and break it. Naturally, since they got a chance, they captured him in order to find out how much we know about their sorcery…"

"The enemies' sorcery… Their spell casters… Don't you mean…" Allen's eyes widened. "… _Skulls_?"

No one said a word. They all, of course, remembered what had happened to their comrades who had fallen into the hands of the Skulls. Most of them had been killed savagely, others had been turned into heartless creatures that weren't aware of themselves and knew no other objective than to serve the Earl. Lenalee recalled Tapp Dopp's face, though it wasn't really his face, drenched in tears as the man whispered in a voice that wasn't his, _If I could live again, I wouldn't mind doing overdue paperwork… _Her heart jolted painfully and she had to press a hand on her chest to suppress the feelings that wanted to overcome her. She knew that she mustn't give in to her weakness, for she needed to be brave.

Allen too had recalled that painful sight, but then another gruesome idea came to his mind. He remembered the Skulls' criteria, _We're looking for men with good brains… _Link, of course, would fall under _that_ category. It would save him from the fate of getting his head crushed like some kind of insect… but then again, if they turned him into that _thing-_

"We can't wait any longer." Allen finally managed to choke out. "The effect of the spell is wearing off with each passing minute. We have to save him now."

He heard a rustle: Madarao had just stood up.

"Master Disciple, I have to object. Howard Link has fallen into the hands of the enemies. If he knows what's good for him, he must have already killed himself–"

"We can't have you risking your life to save a common inspector-"

Allen unfolded himself from his sitting position. He jerked up, just like a spring being released after having been compressed for too long. Standing as straight as he could, the boy looked at the Crow in the eye.

"I really don't know how to make you guys understand. He's not just _any _inspector. He's Inspector Howard Link, and I'm currently under his responsibility. This is so absurd – He is– He's supposed to be keeping an eye on me!" Allen choked on the few last words and quieted down, but he managed to begin again. "I'll come for him. He has to know that I'll come for him, even if he's that determined to sacrifice himself. Maybe that will open his eyes." The boy then glared at the Third Exorcists; his cursed left eye suddenly twirling viciously as if looking for its prey. "Of course I'm going to need your help, and you're going to help me."

"What if we refuse?" said Madarao, glaring down at the boy.

"Oh, don't be like that. Okay… What if I try this… Pretty please?" He asked sweetly, his warmest smile blooming on his face. Before Madarao could even question this sudden change of attitude, he had felt something cold and sharp pressing against his neck – Allen's claws. He heard a rustle behind him – Tevak just stood up in alarm. She too didn't notice that Allen had had his Innocence activated, and she was just as surprised by Allen's unbelievably quick movement.

"Master Disciple, I suggest that you reverse your activation."

"Not until you say you'll help me."

"This is ridiculous. Are you trying to threaten me? You're just going to get yourself in trouble."

"Since my position sucks anyway… I don't care."

"Do as he says." Froi Tiedoll finally declared. "You have the orders of a General."

---

"_Hakka Tourou!"_

The Akuma blinked and blinked again, then its body suddenly divided into eight equal pieces before exploding. With a smirk, Kanda Yuu leapt backwards to avoid its poisonous blood and quickly placed the seal back on his shoulder. The piece of paper immediately grew its roots again, wrapping the Exorcist in its protective embrace. Kanda's golem fluttered cheerfully towards him; a voice rang out from it:

"_How are things over there?"_

"_Done," _said the Japanese with a "che" that could be heard clearly even through the communication devices. _"I hate to work with you guys, you're so fucking slow-"_

"_Is there something you don't hate, Kanda?" _huffed Allen.

Before Kanda could react, Lavi interrupted in an soothing manner. _"Nooow… But it has to be like this, Yuu-chan. We have to deactivate and re-activate the four seals at the same moment, or else the spell will be broken."_

"_Speaking of spells," _growled Kanda, _"it's fading much faster now. How many Akuma left?"_

"_Two or three Level 3s, one Level 4," _affirmed Lenalee. _"It won't take too long. Then it will just be about Madarao and Tevak - I hope they'll find the Skulls' location soon."_

"_They're working on it." _Marie's voice was soft and even. _"The barrier to ward off other Akuma has already been set. Once we're done with our job, this area will stay clear of Akuma for a while."_

"_Let's hurry, then."_

**A/N: **Dear readers, I'm delighted to present you another chapter *headkeyboard* There had been some crazy exams for me *goes hysterical at the sound of the word "exam" * and my beloved beta-reader was also really busy (In fact, I think she's still busy…)

The writing of this story had already been complete even before I began posting. However, my beta is still working on each chapter, and I can never neglect her suggestions. They are so damn accurate; after changing, the fiction always looks better! This meticulous editing is the reason why releases are so slow. Please be patient and keep supporting us so that we can give you our best!

Lots of thanks to those who cared enough to drop a comment, I appreciate every single one of them.


	8. Chapter 07: Caged Bird

**---Chapter 07: Caged Bird---**

_Open your eyes… Wake up._

_Wake up and keep moving forward, even though you can no longer fly…_

---

"Looks like you've made it."

Allen scowled at the creatures in front of him. Skulls, five of them. Their faces show no feelings, for the only facial expression that could be exposed on a skull was that wide, frozen, toothy smile. An expression that reminded him of the Millennium Earl. The more he looked at them, the more Allen felt sick to his stomach. The knowledge that the Skulls were once humans gripped his heart, causing it to thump loudly and erratically in his chest. Even Timcanpy seemed to feel it; the golden golem kept fluttering anxiously by Allen's side.

"This is the second time you've broken our barrier," said a Skull while his gaze was fixed on Tevak and Madarao. "We have to say, we're pretty impressed."

"So are we." Madarao raised his fist to the level of his eyes. Slowly opening his hand, he dropped four small beetles to the floor, "The barrier was powerful, and these little, living, moving seals sure are hard to detect."

"Sure are," the Skull repeated absently, nodding, watching Tevak stomping on the beetles. "Your friend bought you some precious time-"

"Where is he?" Allen couldn't wait any longer.

"My, keep your voice down, won't you? He's still with us, that's for sure – Such a lively little fella-"

"Where is he?"

"-a shame that he didn't want to talk, we asked him plenty of questions and never got a decent answer-"

"WHERE IS HE?"

"Oh my, such manners," the Skull said softly, staring at the exorcising sword that was pointed at his face, and then slightly raised his head to look at the white-haired Exorcist in front of him. Allen never used his Innocence on Skulls, but he was sure it would work, for they were no less evil than Akuma. The Skull remained quiet for awhile, looking amused. Then, raising his hands in a sign of defeat, he told the others, "You heard the boy. Bring him out."

The four other Skulls quietly agreed and walked into a room on the left. It took a while before they reappeared. Allen had to use all his might to stop his arm from shaking. He didn't know what to expect; for a moment he found himself wondering which he would prefer: a headless corpse or a newly-made Skull.

---

"Hey, look, it's Allen!"

"Wow, so you're really back. Welcome home, Allen!"

"Thank you." Allen managed a smile. Even though brief, it was a real smile, unlike the façade he's been keeping ever since he got back. He didn't stop to talk, just dismissed the others' questioning with a shake of his head. At the moment, he wasn't in the mood to chit-chat, even with his friends from the Science Department – Johnny, Reever and Kath Dopp. In fact, Kath Dopp's presence affected his not-so-well-being, for she reminded Allen of her twin brother Tapp Dopp, the Skulls, and the terrible things these creatures have done to his friends not so long ago.

Not _so _long ago.

Allen took a turn and headed for the Medical Wing. He didn't run into anyone he knew again, but he met some nurses and some injured Finders on the way, and he smiled encouragingly at them when they bowed to him and bid him good day. It felt strange. There had been times when he had been devastated, his heart torn opened by sadness, and he had secretly felt so noble, so brave to be able to force a smile. He had faked those smiles because they had helped people to rest assured, and also helped soothing the raw wounds inside of him. Even though these had been smiles without happiness, but at least they had meant something… And now… they seemed completely meaningless.

Hollow.

Here he was, dispensing smiles to the people who looked at him in unwavering hope, as if he was some kind of great savior, while he knew so damn well that he wasn't-

_I…_

He was nothing more than a pathetic, despicable liar- He didn't deserve to be called a man; he was incapable of keeping his words- Kanda had the right to hate him for that, he supposed…

_I could…_

"-and return after three days, do you remember?"

Allen looked up and found the Matron, who was escorting a limping Finder out of the infirmary. She watched her patient for a while to make sure he could use his crutches well, and then turned to Allen.

"Good morning, Matron-"

"Allen." She nodded, scanning him from head to toes with professional eyes. "It looks like your injuries healed well. Is it time to change your bandages yet?"

"I just got my bandages changed, thank you," Allen said with a bow of his head. "Actually, I'm here to-"

He shut up, because Matron had given him a thoughtful look. Was he really that piteously obvious?

"You know it's not your fault," the Head Nurse said at last. "It's not like you can change anything."

_I couldn't…_

Allen dropped his façade. Matron spent half of her lifetime watching over the Order's infirmary; she must have witnessed so much pain and suffering that she could actually sense them. It wasn't like he could fool her with this stupid smile.

"I know," he whispered, "but I can't help it. Could you please-? If it's not too much to ask…"

Silence was all he got. Matron didn't answer, but she opened the infirmary door for him. Allen walked past her, mumbling his thanks, before heading for a cot in the very corner of the room – a cot covered by white curtains, safe from all curious eyes, guarded by Two Third Exorcists, Goushi and Tokusa. They didn't show any sign of tiredness, even though apparently they had been standing guard all night. Goushi only acknowledged Allen with a look when he approached, but Tokusa smiled at him and said, rubbing his chin, "Good morning again, Master Disciple. Aw, but aren't you caring…?"

Allen ignored him. He lifted the curtain and entered the guarded area. Placing the paper bag that he had been carrying all along on the nightstand, he forced himself to speak in his usual cheerful tone.

"Hey there, Link. I brought you some donuts."

His heart ached as he said so, and it ached even more when he turned to look at the person who was sitting on the cot. It was Howard Link, although it wasn't exactly Howard Link. The Howard Link that Allen used to know didn't have his blonde hair chopped up to shoulder-length, nor did he ever let his hair hang so messily to the sides of his face – but then again his hair was too short to be put in a braid, or even a ponytail, like he usually did. The Howard Link that Allen used to know had eyes that shone with confidence and determination, not glassy, unfocused pale green gems that looked but could see no more. The Howard Link that Allen _used _to know may be covered in bandages and pale from of massive blood loss, but his skin would never degrade to this shade of ashen, deathly white. Nor would it just turn black for no reason.

And when Allen said "black", he meant so literally. The skin on Link's right arm had turned black, the velvet, graphite, perfect shade of black that couldn't be mistaken for any other colors. At first sight, that arm looked like it was burned down, carbonized, but actually, the flesh and blood were intact – it just turned black.

_I couldn't protect…_

Allen couldn't tear his eyes off Link. Every time he saw Link's right arm – and it was damn hard _not _to see it, it contrasted vividly against everything else in this place – he couldn't help feeling pangs of guilt and remorse stabbing his heart. And he just let them gnaw through him, pierce him, destroy him, like the Teases had done to him once, and he regretted, regretted, because-

_I couldn't protect him._

Allen reached his hand to tuck some of Link's hair behind his ear. Normally, the Inspector would have protested this kind of intimate contact, but now, he just sat there, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. The Skulls had tried to change him, and they had done so. They had taken all his feelings and memories away, leaving his mind an empty, endless black void. Not content with erasing his personality, they had been tempted to change his appearance, to turn him into one of them… If it hadn't been for Kanda and General Tiedoll, Link wouldn't have been able to avoid that fate. Allen had been no help, for the Skulls had aimed at Link's head and the boy doubted if he could move faster than their evil sorcery… But then Kanda had proved that his intelligence level wasn't as low as the others usually said. As Lavi and the others distracted the Skulls, Kanda had replaced himself with a puppet made out of General Tiedoll's "Art", and had snuck behind the enemies, taking them all down with one swing of his sword.

Thanks to everyone, the Skulls were eliminated before they could fully transform Link and implant him with the Earl's orders. Thanks to everyone, one arm was as far as the Skulls could go.

Allen hadn't been any help at all.

"Hey, now that I think about it, our arms kinda match, don't you think?" he said with a grin, settling himself on the chair next to the cot. He put his left hand on Link's right hand and unconsciously, began to stroke it as he continued his monologue.

"General Tiedoll said he hoped you'd get better soon. He seemed to like you a lot; he even mistook you for Kanda that time back there at the old Headquarters… you remember?"

"Lavi locked himself in his room all day; I don't know what more he can find in his records- If he's using that as an excuse for not staying in the infirmary, I swear he's not succeeding. Matron's gonna explode any moment. She is already mad because Lenalee and the whole Tiedoll team left too soon."

"Jerry made some delicious donuts, you should try, his new recipe for chocolate sprinkles is a revolution-"

And so Allen continued on with these kinds of empty, meaningless things despite the fact that he wasn't getting any answer, for now Link had been caged, trapped within himself, estranged from the outside world. He just kept talking, because he couldn't stand the truth that the last things he had said to Link were such cruel words. Allen probably knew for himself that he was making no sense, but then again, as he had told the Matron earlier, he couldn't help it.

"Oh my, is it this late already? I didn't realize – I'm too used to have you running after me and telling me what to do already, Link. Well, I shouldn't be late – Leverrier himself will question us about the last mission. I don't know what else we can tell him, he kept Timcanpy the whole day yesterday-"

"Get well soon, okay?" said Allen finally, picking up his coat. Link still didn't answer. The white-haired boy quieted down, then leaned forward to wrap his arms around the other's neck. _"I'm sorry…"_

---

"_How was he captured?"_

"_Under the effect of the spell, he was unable to move. An Akuma took him and brought him to the Skulls. We witnessed it with our own eyes."_

"_Did they question him?"_

"_They admitted to us that they did."_

"_Did he answer?"_

"_The Skulls said they didn't get a 'decent answer'."_

"_Could he speak?"_

"_The spell doesn't affect one's capability to speak."_

"_So the Skulls tried to turn him into one of them. Did they success?"_

"_Only to remove his memories and to transform one arm."_

"_Is that all?"_

"_That's what we see. Only God would know if they managed to do something else."_

"_Couldn't you tell?"_

"_No. I'm unfamiliar with this kind of sorcery."_

"_Is there a way to reverse this transformation?"_

"_We tried everything we could. Nothing worked. Even Allen Walker's Innocence couldn't dispel those evil effects. Of course Miranda Lotto's Time Record would be able to reverse it, but its effect is only temporary."_

"_Can this spell continue to spread?"_

"_I don't know, but there is a chance."_

That was all he needed to know.

---

The door creaked open.

"Sir," Tokusa greeted him with a soft smile.

Malcolm C. Leverrier opened the infirmary's door and walked towards the Third Exorcists. "Did the boy come today?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. He stayed and talked for about an hour before going to your office. He brought donuts from the cafeteria and left them on the nightstand."

"Dispose of them. How is he?"

"Just the same as yesterday, sir."

"I see." A sigh. "It can't be helped."

"What did Madarao say, if I may ask, sir?"

Leverrier didn't answer. "… The execution will take place in two days. Don't let the boy know."

"But of course, sir."

As soon as the infirmary door closed, Tokusa exchanged a look with Goushi, then left his spot to enter the guarded area. He picked up the paper bag on the nightstand, made a disgusted expression at its contents, then sent a glance towards the immobile figure on the cot.

"That's too bad. But don't worry. Just a fire, then everything will end."

A flame burst from the crimson-cloaked man's palm, licking up the paper bag, consuming it, leaving behind nothing, not even scattering ashes—nothing.

"Just a fire," repeated Tokusa, "Seriously, Howard… When Inspector Leverrier said that you were going to fly higher than we could reach… I never thought it'd turn out like this."

**A/N: **Just so you know, my beta-reader is such a miracle ;w;

YOU ALL ARE MIRACLES, TOO! I'm so happy that you're still reading!

Review, please? :B


	9. Chapter 08: Flightless Bird

**---Chapter 08: Flightless Bird---**

_Is it… a dream?_

_All the ones I have loved calling out my name._

_The sun warms my face._

_All the days of my life, I see them passing me by._

_(_From _Swan Song – Within Temptation)_

---

It happened again, tonight.

The Third Exorcists, of course, were first to be aware of it. Goushi came knocking on her office door, and Matron responded at once, for she had been staying awake just to be there when it occurred.

"Prepare the sedative," she told the nurse who was on duty that night before trotting towards the only occupied cot in the infirmary. The moans and whimpers from the previous nights had become muffled, choked screams, which couldn't be a good sign. Drawing back the white curtains, she met with Tokusa who was struggling to pin Link against the cot by his wrists. "How is it?"

"It would be a delight if you could put an end to this, Matron," said the man. "it's getting much worse."

Matron didn't know what Tokusa was trying to imply by saying "put an end to this", but she ignored him and took care of her patient first. Howard Link's situation sure had worsened. She had observed him four nights straight; every night he woke, whining and tossing around on the cot until she managed to soothe him. On the third night, he had been thrashing so violently that she couldn't calm him with just words. And this time, he even started screaming while struggling clumsily but aggressively to free himself from Tokusa's hold. His eyes were bright and wide opened but Matron knew for sure he wasn't alert; his pupils didn't react to the change of light and didn't focus on her at all.

"Link, it's all right, no matter what you see it's not real, I swear it's not real-"

She whispered into his ear, cupping his face in her hands, but he fought back, shaking his head from side to side uncomfortably. As his scream rose into a wild, agonized howl, Matron knew that she wouldn't be able to help. She gestured for her assistant to give her the syringe.

"Link, if you stop moving it won't hurt-"

He didn't do so – he struggled harder instead, and it took Matron a lot of effort just to get the needle into his vein. He knew she would do this to him; his eyes widened as he felt the drug and he tried to resist, but then he let out a soft moan of defeat before easing his body from the tension. Soon his eyes closed, his body went limp, his head lolled to the side and rolled into the depth of the pillow and Tokusa let go of him.

"Thank you very much for your hard work, Matron," said the man politely with a bow of his head. "We feel bad for waking you at this time of the night, but only you-"

"Oh, I'm only doing my job." She gently brushed him off with a sigh. She placed the syringe on the tray on the nightstand, then put a hand on Link's forehead. "The sedative will slow his healing, but we can't have him damaging himself. I'll see what I can do about his fever."

Leaving Link to the care of her assistant, Matron returned to her office to check on Link's dossier. She remembered every medicine she had assigned, but since Link's list of medicines was quite a long one, she wanted to make sure that she didn't make any mistake. She skimmed through the list and sighed, massaging her temples before picking up the pen and wrote something in Link's profile.

Once again she felt so powerless; no matter what she did, they kept slipping away from her, one by one. But she would never give up.

---

This morning when he woke up, Allen thought about raspberry scones.

He went to the cafeteria looking for some, but it was too early so breakfast had not been served yet. He asked Jerry if he had any. The Chef looked up from the oven he was surveying and gave him a smile before wandering towards the kitchen counters, then returned with two paper bags in his arms.

"I assume you won't be here when breakfast is served," he said kindly, "so take some for yourself too."

"Thank you Jerry, that's so thoughtful of you. Sorry for the trouble-"

"Not at all, Allen," the Chef dismissed him with a smile. "It's my pleasure. Now, if you excuse me… I should finish cooking before those gluttons wake up-"

"Yeah, right. See you at lunch."

The scones were warm and their scent was pleasant. Allen hugged the paper bags to his chest and broke into a trot, hurrying towards the Medical Wing. His small journey was quiet and peaceful; he encountered no injured people on his way, just some nurses who carried stacks of paperwork, laundry baskets, or trays of medicines. Once the infirmary door was in sight, he slowed down. The Third Exorcists were standing guard outside the infirmary, much to Allen's surprise. He bid them good day before opening the door.

"Good morning, Matron-"

His jaw dropped. For a moment he thought his vision fooled him, but it was true, it was real. The white curtains had been drawn back, revealing the cot in the corner of the infirmary. Matron was sitting on a chair next to the cot, holding a bowl in her right hand and a silver spoon in her left; she was talking, and Allen knew for sure that unlike him, she wouldn't be talking if the other person couldn't response,

"Come on, open up, just one more spoonful-"

"_Nein!"_

The voice that answered was Link's, but it wasn't really Link. Allen didn't remember if he ever heard Link speaking in his mother tongue, nor did the Inspector ever use such a childish tone. In awe, the white-haired boy came closer… and soon a pair of pale olive green eyes looked up to greet him.

"Oh, Allen." Matron followed Link's gaze and turned around. "I didn't know you came-"

"Don't mind me, Matron." Allen took another step closer. "How is he? Did he recover?"

"Well… Not entirely." The nurse wasn't sure how to explain, "He just-"

"… scones."

Allen jumped in surprise when Link mumbled so, touching his arm with a black-tainted hand and reaching for the bags of scones. The Matron reacted while the young Exorcist was still standing there in amazement.

"No, Link, finish your porridge first. Then if you take your medicines properly, I'll let you have one-"

"_Nein, alte Hexe!" _The Inspector frowned, yelled, and let himself fall noisily into the cot, yanking the sheets up until they covered his head. Then he just curled up sulking inside the lump, acting like he didn't give a damn about what was happening around, but would still react viciously if Matron dared to lay a hand on him.

"Boy, he's got a temper." The nurse sighed in defeat when her hand was shook off for the fifth time, "Well, I'll wait until he calms down and see if I can force some more food down his throat-"

"Matron, what happened?"

The woman looked at Link's tray of medicines, replacing the pills with some bottles of liquid, "He's struggling. I'm assuming that the Skulls' spell didn't actually remove his memories, but merely seal them somewhere inside. The Inspector's struggling to get them back, and… as you can see, he's succeeded. Somewhat."

"I… see." said Allen, half-distracted when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a hand poking out from the lump of sheets and quickly snatching two scones from the paper bags he had left on the nightstand. When Matron turned back, the hand had already disappeared under the sheets. "So, this is an improvement?"

"Of course, even though he's not really himself. Anyhow, a child is still better than an inanimate object. You, Allen." Matron turned to face him. "I know how you're feeling right now, but please, _please_, just let him be. It may take him days, maybe months, to fully recover. Don't push him. Don't force him to remember. He's extremely unstable right now, if he is agitated there's no telling what will happen next."

"Understood, Matron." He stood up straight and saluted, grinning broadly. "What does 'alte Hexe' mean, by the way?"

"… Old hag." Matron huffed and left to help an injured Finder.

Allen burst into laughter. When he turned to look at the lump on the cot, he found a pair of green eyes peeking at him, and he sent a wink in that direction. Ah, but if felt good to have hope.

---

He stayed at the infirmary the whole day. He just lingered there in the corner of the room and watched. The scones that Link had managed to steal improved his mood; he left his blankets cocoon after a while, and meekly accepted the porridge that Matron fed him. He drank medicines properly, not fighting back at all, just whispering some soft German words under his breath, probably commenting on the liquid's horrid taste. Then he was allowed to have another scone, and he had been munching at it happily as Allen watched him, wondering why the balloon of excitement he'd just felt went down so fast.

Maybe Allen had expected Link to gather himself faster than this. Maybe he just wasn't used to see the stoic Inspector acting like a five-year-old, rolling around on his bed, humming German folk songs, talking to himself in the language that only he could understand, staring at the sky with his hands cupping the sides of his face and his elbows rested on the windowsill, looking after every bird that flew by, as if nothing could bother him, while the Link that Allen used to know had lots to worry about. Maybe it was just because he started to miss him, the Inspector, the stingy Moleface who followed him everywhere he went, who always told him to look down, be meek and act like a good boy while he wasn't even that docile to begin with-

Allen felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. When he looked up, he realized his vision was blurred by the hot tears that had been welling up in his eyes, so he wiped them hastily, and was shocked to find Link so close in front of him. The Inspector had slipped off his bed, dragging the blankets behind him, and had come to Allen. His blonde hair hang messily down the sides of his face, his lengthening bangs almost covered his wide opened, crystal clear green eyes. He was pale, his skin was an unhealthy shade under the colors of the twilight; his lips were trembling slightly, maybe because of the exhaustion from which he hadn't fully recovered yet. Mismatched hands came to rest on Allen's lap, as Link knelt on the floor and looked up at him and spoke, releasing each German-accented syllable with difficulty. "_Mein Herr_… Are you- all right?"

Allen felt a pang of misery, but he managed a smile. "I-I'm fine…"

Hot, slender fingers touched his scarred cheek. "_Nein… _that's… not true… Why are you- cry-ing?"

Allen's restraints shattered. He couldn't take it anymore, that voice, that face, those eyes- Having Link's form right here in front of him, while knowing that the true Howard Link had drifted away, had been sent away into the darkness, too far away from his reach. Allen slumped to the floor on his knees, flung his arms over Link's shoulders, and he held the Inspector's gaunt form, sobbing hotly into his neck,

"It's all my fault- It's all my fault. Link, I'm so sorry, I had no idea… I'm so sorry. Please, Link, I'll do anything… I'm begging you, come back… _Please come back_!"

---

"Nurse, sedative!"

"Yes, Matron!"

"He won't stop- I can't- He's too strong, Matron!"

"Bind him." Ordered the Head Nurse. She turned to the dumbfounded Allen and scowled, "Move!"

Timcanpy hissed at her furiously; she simply ignored the golem; horrified, Allen pulled Tim back by his tail and made his retreat, but still couldn't tear his eyes off the scene in the infirmary. A nurse ran past him, a syringe ready in hand, while another made a lunge for the storage cabinet and brought out a roll of bandages. Matron took the bandages and, with the sudden strength and determination of a much younger woman, pinned each of Link's limbs down and bound him to the cot. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face as she yelled, fighting to be heard over Link's continuous screams, "It's okay, Link– Nothing can harm you now– Calm down, please, you'll only hurt yourself-"

_Nothing can harm you now_? But what did she mean – Did Allen harm him? He never meant to – but did he? He fiddled with his shirt, and answered himself, _Yes, I did. _Only a harming act could result to this outburst, and Link was suffering from what Allen had done.

Link had been crying. He didn't just sulk like a child would, he had actually been crying his heart out, and he was fully himself when he did so. Tear mixed with blood streamed out from his eyes; drop by drop, they rolled down, tracing his ashen white skin, marking his face with a crimson cobweb. His mouth was pulled down by screams of agony; he screamed until he was out of breath, and when he was, he bit his lips, he bit his tongue – so hard that blood began to trickle down from the corners of his pale lips. Matron ordered the nurses to put a gag in his mouth to prevent him from hurting himself more, but none of them could bring themselves to do so, and the Head Nurse had to do the heartbreaking work by herself. The more restraints they put on him, the harder he struggled – soon his wounds were torn opened; more blood were smeared on the white sheets, and Matron choked out in despair,

"But do something, _anyone_, do something, stop him!"

A crimson figure walked past Allen and stopped by the cot. Even though in shock, the young Exorcist could still recognize Goushi's voice.

"Move," he told the nurses before beginning to chant a spell with an unwavering voice, "_Hijutsu: Shibaribane-" _and seals flew out of his sleeve and encircled the cot, _"Baku!"_

It was like a thunderstrike. A flash of light blinded their vision, and when they could see again, Link was already lying still. More tears fell free from his eyes; his chest heaved up and down painfully; but he was no longer struggling, for he had been bound by _Binding Feathers. _

"Don't you need to do something?" Tokusa gave the awed Matron a gentle nudge. "Hurry up."

"Ah, y-yes," she squeaked, taking the syringe from her assistant. Holding up Link's arm, she avoided looking at his face and injected him with the sedative. It looked like she gave him quite a lot of it; as soon as the syringe emptied, Link's body went limp. His eyelids slowly dropped and he fell asleep, drifting into a world of nightmares where he was left completely alone.

**---**

His legs ached, his back was ice cold, but he refused to move.

Matron walked past him, carrying a fuming basin. She set it on a chair next to the cot, soaked a towel in hot water, wrung it dry then began to clean Link's body. It took several changes of water until she was fully satisfied. Nodding absently to herself, she removed the wet towel on Link's forehead and checked his temperature before replacing it with a new, clean towel.

It was past midnight and most of the nurses had gone to rest. Link, Allen, Matron, the nurse on duty, and the Third Exorcists were the only ones left in the infirmary. Matron had been ignoring Allen all along, but he was thankful that she still let him stay here, after what he just did-

She had smacked him across the face – he would have wondered how a backhand from a nurse like her could actually hurt that much, but he always knew Matron was a strong woman. It must have been a lot more painful if he'd slapped someone using his left hand, like he had done to Link not so long ago-

"Are you going to sit there all night?"

Lost in thoughts, Allen didn't recognize that Matron had come in front of him. He slowly raised his head – Timcanpy left the nest in his hair as he did so – and looked at her, "Please… don't worry about me…"

His voice was hoarse, as if he had forgotten how to use it. Matron stared at him.

"Worry? Who would worry about an idiot?" she said harshly, but after a moment of silence, she gently touched his cheek, "… Does it still hurt?"

Allen cracked a smile, "Don't worry about me… I've gone through worse. How is he-?"

"He's having a bad fever. Apparently, he is forcing his way out of the Skulls' seal. I don't know what you've told him while I wasn't there, Allen, but he's reacting to it. He recognized you."

"Ah" was all the boy could manage. "Will he- Will he get better?"

"His fever is not worrisome, but I dare not predict anything. I don't know much about spells, especially not those that affect one's mind. But Allen, you've crossed the line, you've pushed it to the limit, and your role is over. Now it's all up to the Inspector. If he is strong enough, he'll overcome it – However, of course, there are things that, once broken you can never put it back the way it was…"

With that, Matron turned on her heel and left the infirmary for a while. Allen decided to leave his spot, stood up, and walked to Link's side. The Inspector was sleeping soundlessly under the effect of the drug, but Allen wondered what was actually going on in his mind. His eyes were tightly shut, his breaths shallow, his chapped lips parted for more air, and the feverish blush on his cheeks was the only color on his pale face. His cursed right arm kept twitching, tugging on the bandages that Matron had put on him for restraints. Weighted down by sorrow, Allen couldn't think of any thing better to do than to use his fingers to comb some strands of stray hair from Link's face. Finally, he decided to stop looking. Assuming that Matron would return any moment, he left Link's side. He returned to his corner, sat on the chair and drew his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly. Curling into a ball to fight against the coldness of the night, Allen mentally bid Link goodnight before burying his face in his knees and drifting off to sleep.

---

---

**A/N: **This chapter came earlier than I expected :D I hope everyone enjoyed reading. There are only two more chapters til the end. I finished reading a long time ago, but I'm not satisfied with the events yet. My beta and I are still looking for a way to fix the overdose of melodrama, but gain no success so far. So it'll probably take a while. Please be patient.

If you can drop a nice long detailed review, you'll help me a lot. Thank you so much for reading this far. I'm really thankful.


	10. Chapter 09: Soaring Bird

**---Chapter 09: Soaring Bird---**

_Don't you die on me,_

_You haven't made your peace._

_Live life, breathe,_

_Breathe._

_(_From _Dark Wings – Within Temptation)_

---

He woke up to the sound of people arguing.

Slowly, Allen opened his eyes and dragged himself back into consciousness. The sun was shining brightly outside, a new day had begun without him knowing-

"Allen!"

His head jerked up when he heard Matron's shriek. His vision focused; he turned his head from side to side looking for her, and found her standing by the infirmary's door with her arms widely spread. Apparently she was trying to stop the Third Exorcists from leaving-

Reality hit him with destructive power, and Allen stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over, "What's going on? Wh-What are you doing?"

Goushi and Tokusa turned their gazes on him. They were both dressed in full Third Exorcist attire – cloak, hat, veil and all. Tokusa was standing face to face to Matron, while Goushi just stood quietly behind him, hanging onto the handles of a wheelchair that carried-

"… Link," Allen breathed out, eyeing the still body on the wheelchair. Even though Link had his eyes opened, he didn't seem conscious and didn't react to the sound of his name; Allen then understood that he had fallen once again into the standstill state of an inanimate doll. Gripped by fear, confusion and frustration, Allen turned his look to Tokusa, asking furiously, "Where are you taking him?"

"Forgive my rudeness, but I believe it has nothing to do with you, Master Disciple. This is an order from Central, or should I say, from Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier himself-"

"Leverrier is just Central's puppet, of course his order is Central's order!" spat Matron. "Now you listen to me– Howard Link is currently under my responsibility, and I'm not allowing you to take him anywhere – he hasn't recovered yet!"

"I respect your devotion, Matron, but let me tell you… There is _no_ need for him to recover, not at all." Tokusa's eyes glittered dangerously as he said so, and Allen had to suppress a chill.

"What are you implying?"

"This matter doesn't regard you, Master Disciple. Matron, please move out of the way. If you don't-"

"Just tell us where you're planning to-"

Events followed each other, all happening in a flash. The moment Allen dared to take another step forward, Goushi let go of the wheelchair and moved to block his way. Since Allen didn't expect aggression, he didn't ready his Innocence, nor did he even think that Goushi would attack him, but the big man did. With a sudden push of the heel of his palm, he sent Allen flying through the infirmary. The boy collided against the wall and collapsed, falling into a cart that carried medicine bottles. Blood wet his white hair as he slowly slipped to the floor, into a puddle of mixed contents from the broken bottles, glass shards crunching beneath him. He recognized an eye-watering smell – it was, but it shouldn't be – ether. He tried to hold his breath, but his body wasn't under his control. He gasped. His senses instantly went dull, his vision distorted – and Matron was shoved aside, her head made a sickening sound when it collided with the floor. Tokusa stepped over her still body to leave the infirmary; Goushi pushed the wheelchair after him, and there were no more crimson cloaks in sight.

---

"_Who are you?"_

_My Link… Little Howard… Come here…_

"_Who – What are you? Where are you? Where am I?"_

_Come… come this way, just come this way… and you will be suffering no more…_

"_Where am I going? It's too dark, I can't see-"_

_Follow the fire, Howard, follow the firebird… _

"_What is the meaning of this? I'm scared…"_

_There's no need for you to be scared. You have much to be proud of. You only need to come this way… and everything will end – your fear, your sorrow, your suffering, everything. Everything will end soon._

---

His consciousness was lost, and found, and lost again; Allen found himself wandering between reality and hallucinations. For a moment he thought he was really staring at a pair of green eyes, and was wondering how to chase away the pain and sorrow in that look, but it took just a blink for those eyes to vanish from his sight and for the scene to switch into the infirmary room. Silence was broken when a group of nurses came in; they cried out in surprise at the sight of the two lifeless bodies on the floor and, not wasting a single moment, they hurried to do their work.

A nurse came to assist Allen. Her voice was soft and soothing – He wished he could fall asleep, right here, right now, with that voice whispering into his ears. He was so tired; his eyelids were heavy and would drop any moment… Why should he be standing, why couldn't he lie down and-

"Damn it!" Allen screamed at his own weakness. He swept the nurse's hand off him and tried to get up, but his mind was fogged and his body not under his control. Frustrated, he felt around, not knowing exactly what he was looking for at first, but then the cold, sticky glass shards came in contact with his skin. A small groan escaped his lips as he grabbed them and closed his right hand into a fist around them.

The shards' sharp edges immediately cut into his palm, sending a burning sensation up his arm. Allen's eyes squeezed shut at the sudden pain, but when he opened them again, his vision was no longer blurred. He tried to get up; his feet obeyed him this time. Step by step he made his way towards the nurses who were gathering around Matron, and asked, "H-How is she?"

The nurses looked up at him; from their expression he could tell he was a terrible sight. "She hit her head – She'll be out for a while, but she'll be fine. Master Exorcist, wha-"

"Listen," Allen interrupted their questions even before they began. "I need to find the Third Exorcists. Do you, by any chance, know where they're going?"

The nurses looked at each other in confusion, and Allen waited even though he felt like he already knew the answer. When a nurse finally shook her head, Allen boy almost choked on the lump in his throat. Mumbling an almost inaudible "Thank you", he dragged himself out of the infirmary. Timcanpy followed him. They tried to move as fast as they could, but the golden golem occasionally went the wrong way and hit the walls. Allen didn't blame him – Tim got almost the same dose of ether as him, and they both were experiencing the same loss of control over their own bodies.

"Allen!"

Allen recognized the voice. He had, somehow, made his way out of the Medical Wing and was now in a corridor that he couldn't yet identify. Leaning against the wall for support, he looked up to find Lavi and Lenalee in front of him.

"Allen! What happened?" Lavi grabbed Allen's shoulders; the redhead's strong grip hurt a bit, but it stopped him from collapsing again. "You're bleeding!"

"Were you attacked?" Lenalee asked, glancing at Timcanpy who was blindly swaying around in midair.

"Yes, attacked… The Third Exorcists," Allen managed, "Did you- Did you see them?"

"No, but- Did you just say they attacked you?"

"Yes, they did, because I tried to stop them… They're taking Link- they're trying to take him somewhere-"

"Wow, easy, Allen… Maybe they're taking him out for treatment? They're the only one who can cure him from that spell, right, I mean-"

"That's not true, they tried to take him out without letting us know… When Matron and I asked where they were taking him, they-" Allen's head was throbbing painfully, making it difficult to concentrate on his speech. "-they attacked us. Matron hit her head, but the nurses said she would be all right… Listen to me." From Lavi and Lenalee's looks, Allen could tell that they needed more persuasion. "That man with his hair tied up to one side… he said that Link wouldn't need to recover. What do you think he's implying?" Allen saw Lavi's eyes widen; of course the redhead understood—there was only one meaning in Tokusa's words. "I have to go after them—where do you think they would take him?"

"… I think I know where they would go," said Lavi after a moment of consideration. "Follow me."

---

It was a circular room, with a very high ceiling supported by thick marble pillars, which gave the impression of being trapped in an endlessly dark well with no way out. The whole floor was covered by the drawing of a magical ring, and more runes were carved up the walls, marking every corner like a spider's web. A small candle stood in the middle of the room, dispensing its shivering yellow light.

In a corner, sunk in the depth of darkness, Malcolm C. Leverrier sat quietly. For years and years he had been serving Central with all he had, moving forward without looking back even once. He never felt a wavering of his heart, not even now. Sure he was feeling strange, but it was merely hollowness, a space in his mind, a lack of his daily thoughts and calculations. Time had stopped for him once, ever since he had departed from the house where he used to live with his family and had been introduced to the Order as the heir of the Leverrier family; time has been moving on and his world has been evolving around the Earl, Akuma, Exorcists and other Exorcists. Now, it seemed the flow had been halted again, and the Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier couldn't tell the reason.

A simple knock on the door interrupted Leverrier's thoughts. "Come in." He said.

Soft rustles and steady footsteps announced the arrival of Madarao. The male Crow came in first, then held the door open for Tevak to push a wheelchair in.

"Is that him?" asked Leverrier, never standing up from where he was sitting.

The wheelchair took a small turn, allowing the feeble light to carve a figure into darkness. Leverrier noticed with slight confusion how different that supposedly familiar face had become. He glared at the black-tainted arm with bitterness. It was a pity that someone so promising in skills who had served him in utmost loyalty had come to this – infected, dragged by that cursed Exorcist into his twisted circle of sin and rebellion.

"Yes sir, it's him," said Madarao. "Haven't you seen him since-"

"I didn't find it necessary."

"I see. Shall we begin?"

"Yes. Go on."

Having gotten Leverrier's order, Tevak took some more steps forward. With an abrupt movement, she yanked the wheelchair violently, causing Link to fall over to the floor. Lying on his stomach next to the candle, he made a small movement with his head, as if trying to look up, but it was all he could do. Madarao looked down at him and stated, "Inspector Howard Link, you have fallen into the hands of the enemy and have failed to end your life before causing more risks to the Church. You have been transformed and are now a threat to the Order. Therefore, Central sentences you to death for treason and heresy. We members of Crow shall execute you to prevent any possible harm to the Order-"

"NO!"

A loud "BANG" interrupted Madarao when the thick wooden door was sent flying through the room. The marble was much less sturdy than it seemed, and so, cracks appeared on the wall where the door collided with it. Light poured in from the holes where the door had been, illuminating the figures that came into sight. Leverrier stood up.

"You! What do you think you're doing?"

Allen was first to answer. "Inspector Leverrier, please stop! This is a mistake!"

_Pure hypocrisy. You are a mistake, this is all your mistake. _"How did you get here?"

"Not only Central's hounds can track," said Lavi, kicking a crumbled brick out of his way. "This area has been recently assigned to your use. You even held Allen's questioning in the room next door – The door has such nice designs, I felt sorry for knocking it down."

"The guards…"

As if responding to Leverrier's query, the Crow Kiredori leapt out from seemingly nowhere, charging for Lenalee. Even though she only had half of a second to react, the female Exorcist still managed to block Kiredori's attack with her Innocence. The counter-attack ended with Kiredori stumbling backwards. Lenalee pursued her, trying to dominate by speed. The Crow, however, managed to dodge all crucial attacks aimed at her; soon a large hole was dug in the cracked wall when a Dark Boot's heel missed Kiredori by inches. The Crow deliberately fell outside and took Lenalee with her. Slightly shocked, Lavi called after the Chinese Exorcist, but he didn't have much time to worry about others. Goushi had risen from the ruins and resumed his attacks. Tokusa followed the big man and lunged on Allen from above like a predatory bird coming for a rat.

"Do it, quickly!"

The Crows obeyed. Tevak and Madarao clasped their hands together and began chanting the incantation in an unknown language. Link shifted a bit as the candle was blown out and the magical ring beneath him began to glow. Then, suddenly, a flame burst up from the floor and swallowed him.

"NO!" shouted Allen. "Inspector, stop it! That spell is curable; Matron said he is already recovering-"

Allen's unspoken words died in his throat when Tokusa punched him hard on the face, sending him flying through the room and into the flame.

"ALLEN!" cried Lavi. "Hold on, I'ma get you outta there! _Hi Ban-"_

"Stop." A voice commanded, and Lavi felt something cold pressing against his temple. Leverrier had his gun aimed at him; Goushi and Tokusa were also ready to strike. "Don't move. You can't control that flame with your Innocence, Bookman Junior. For an observer, you interfere quite a lot."

"Gah," snarled the redhead, glaring back at Leverrier. "You aren't going to kill an Exorcist, are you?"

"I am not going to kill you, but I can keep you from interfering… in many ways. As for Allen Walker… this is all an accident. He had been placed under suspicion of heresy, anyway."

"You-" Lavi's gripped tightened around the hammer's handle. He clenched his teeth, glaring at the fire in the middle of the room. Once his eye had familiarized itself with the blazing light, he recognized some strands of green in the fire. Green sparks danced among red flames, glittering like fireworks.

The successor of Bookman wasn't the only one to notice this phenomenon. Leverrier and the Crows had their eyes fixed on the fire too. "What's happening?" asked the Inspector.

"He's… struggling," replied Madarao, gritting his teeth.

_Aha._ Lavi's eyebrows relaxed and his lips cracked open in a smile, "I see. Well, have it the way you want, Malcolm. I won't interfere. I don't think that even my interfering can change the path that they're making."

---

It was hot.

Allen slid deeper into Crown Clown's protective embrace. He coughed and fumbled around to make sure Link was safe too. Fire roared around them wildly like starving carnivorous beasts, but Allen wasn't worrying about the heat. If Akuma and even Noah can't damage his Innocence, it's not like this fire could. In fact, he was more worried about-

He choked, his right hand grabbing his burning throat. Doubling over, he buried his face in Link's back. A voice in the back of his mind shouted at him to get out of there, and he did try to do what it told, but he couldn't move. His Innocence would deactivate when he lost consciousness, which meant this fire would consume both Link and him.

Allen doubted the Innocence would save him again. But it was foolish to even think about relying on the unexpected reactions of an Innocence. It was clear he couldn't protect himself, let alone Link. He could just run for his life now, but he refused to. He didn't want to face that kind of life. He ordered himself to think, but nothing came. Beneath him Link was lying still, his eyes closed, and he didn't seem to be suffering. Wrapping his arms around the Inspector, trying unsuccessfully to cover the other body with his own, Allen whispered into his neck, "Link… I'll get you out of here…"

The last bit of oxygen was consumed and his lungs writhed in agony, screaming for air. Every single inch of his body was on fire. He couldn't tell if it was because his Innocence had deactivated and his body was being physically burned up, or it was just starving for oxygen. He felt so weak, but his arms were still strong.

_I'll get you out of here. I'm not leaving you here to die._

---

_What's wrong, Howard?_

The little boy didn't answer. He spun around, causing his ponytail to whip through the air. Then he just stood, clenching then relaxing his fists; his wide open, unblinking eyes scanning the ruins that surrounded him.

_Howard, let's go…_

The boy ignored the firebird that spoke in human voice. From a distance, one could mistake the bird for some kind of fairy. However, if one paid enough attention, they should be able to recognize the crest, the long and delicate beak, and swallow-like tails.

Turning his back, the boy broke into a run.

_Howard, get back here!_

"I hear… a voice," muttered the boy, more to himself than to the bird. Irritated, the fluttering fire came after him. It hovered above him, shouting down at him angrily, but couldn't stop the boy from running further and further into the ruins.

With surprising agility, the little boy leapt past fallen stone pillars, climbed under crumbled rooftops; his little feet stepped on pieces of brick and glass shards; his hands were tainted black from touching many burned wooden columns. The green gaze embraced the whole horizon as he stepped further into what seemed like a huge battlefield.

_Howard, don't go there!_

The bird's surreal voice had risen into a furious screech, but the boy dared to disobey again. He walked into a small pond and dabbled in water that was as clear as the sound of a crystal bell. The pond was shallow, so he kept walking until he reached the middle of the water, where the firebird dared not follow him.

"I heard your voice," he said, bending so low that his nose almost touched the water surface. He blinked at his reflection, staring into his own eyes, until he heard that weak, faraway voice calling out for him again.

_Link, I'll get you out of here…_

The reflection in the water slowly materialized. The eyes that stared back into little Link's eyes were no longer his own green eyes, but a pair of gray eyes. The hair was different, too; it wasn't blonde anymore and the bangs were missing…

Out of breath, Link reached out a hand and touched the mirror image on the water surface. He felt something that wasn't water, something soft and warm under his fingers, so he grabbed it. The next thing he knew was that the mirror-like water surface suddenly shattered into millions of splattering water drops; and a pair of arms were flung around his neck, pulling him into a hearty embrace.

"Link!"

Link startled a bit at the sound of his own name. He eyed the other boy in utmost perplexity. Wet brown hair stuck to the sides of his face, but couldn't hide the scar that ran from his eyebrow to his cheek. Grayish-blue eyes glittering in joy, he buried his face into Link's shoulder and squeezed tighter, "Link, Link, I found you!"

Link found himself stuck in a bear hug with a person he didn't know. This face gave him a feeling of déjà-vu, but no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't find a name to fit it. This hug was growing uncomfortable… but he couldn't possibly be rude to a person who seemed so happy to find him, could he?

He cleared his throat in a manner that wasn't even a little bit childish. "Um… Why are you hugging me, if I may ask?"

The other boy pulled back. "What? You don't remember me?"

"… I don't think I know you to begin with…"

"Eh." The brown-haired boy only stopped for a moment to consider Link's confusion. "All right, so this is what it's like. It's you, but it's not you- Now that I think about it, it can't be all right like this. You can't be a child- You were never a child, you were born adult and polite and courteous and all-" He chuckled a little, interrupting himself. "Anyway, let's get out of here before-"

_You're not going anywhere._

It seemed like the pond had shrunk. The crystal clear water suddenly vanished, vaporizing into a thick fog. A wall of fire encircled them, and the fire bird appeared again, its angry eyes glittering dangerously as it repeated in a howl, _You are not going anywhere._

---

It was… warm.

A flash of light pierced through the darkness that was holding him, forcing him to open his eyes. The first thing that he realized was that the fire had retreated and now formed a ring around him. Link's body was heavy in his arms; a green light covered the Inspector's body and sparks occasionally shot out, just like summer fireworks. Some sparks hit Allen, but he didn't feel the burn. The sparks weren't meant to hurt; they didn't even damage the floor, just crawled to the wall of fire and mixed in with the crimson inferno. In awe, Allen looked down at Link. Shining green runes flowed out from the Inspector's open palms and chained themselves together into a wall that sealed the fire outside.

"Impossible…" hissed Goushi through gritted teeth. "Without a seal or a magical ring-"

"He's forcing release." Tevak didn't even blink an eye. "He may kill himself."

_But weren't you already trying to kill him? _Allen found himself wondering, but there was no time for everyday sarcasm. The torrent of runes never stopped, swirling in a circle around them, suffocating the fire, slowly squeezing it out. The fire struggled like a living creature before going into its death throes and reducing to red hot scattering ashes. Even then, the runes didn't disappear; they simply shrank to the size of fireflies and continued to storm wildly around the room.

Did Link know that he was no longer in danger? What if this forced release couldn't be stopped and he was really killing himself?

Allen called out, "Link?"

The Inspector's eyes snapped open. Fear and other mixed emotions gripped Allen's heart when he noticed how bright and green Link's eyes had become. He whispered the Inspector's name again, and to his surprise, Link reacted to it. His look turned to Allen's face, and the boy could even swear that he saw a small smile forming on his lips. Slowly, Link removed Allen's hands from his body, deliberately leaving the boy's protection to stand up and face with the Third Exorcists. He walked closer to them, bare feet making no sound, green flames and runes still surrounding his body. The Crow agents immediately formed a barrier around Leverrier, their hands in seal positions, ready to ward off any outburst that could harm their superior. However, Link made no attempt to break through that human barrier. He simply fixed his look on each of them for an instant, before focusing on Leverrier's face.

Link's lips started moving, as though he was saying something, but no sound was made. He stood there, and stared, as if waiting for Leverrier's reflection to carve into his mirror-like eyes. Then he slowly turned his head to look out the hole on the wall that opened to the sky. The fire around him suddenly scattered into a fine, glowing green dust. Carried along by the wind, it made it way higher, towards the opening, and higher, until its feeble light blended into the bright blue sky.

---

---

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait- Both me and my beta are busy, so things are even slower than they are supposed to be. But that is another chapter, folks! *cheers*

*bows* Thank you very much for the nice reviews you left! They filled me with joy. I love every single word of your reviews, and really, they helped me a lot!

This story is drawing nearer to the end. :3 Only one very short chapter left. I would like you to know that I'm already working on another Link-centric fic, "Dark Wings". I already finished three nice long chapters – I'll upload the prologue real soon to make sure you all add it to your alert. XD However, since DGM is going to be released again soon, I'll be writing really slowly, waiting for more Crow members informations… I hope that you'll still keep reading!

Now if you love me, review, please? :3

*goes to sleep* My health suddenly goes on a downhill. *coughs*

Did I ever mention that I love Tokusa? *coughs*


	11. Chapter 10: Phoenix

**---Chapter 10: Phoenix---**

_The chains to my life are strong,_

_But soon they'll be gone._

_New wings are growing tonight._

_I'll spread my wings one more time._

_Here I am soaring, I'm one with the wind._

_(_From _Swan Song – Within Temptation)_

_---_

"Link!"

It only took Allen one leap to cover the distance between himself and Link, so he managed to catch Link when he fell. The first thing that Allen noticed was that the skin of Link's right arm was white and smooth; there was no sign left of the curse that the Skulls had laid on him. He knelt down, still supporting the young Inspector. Link's body was cold; his head lolled limply against Allen's shoulder. Blood slowly trickled down to his jaw from the corners of his lips. Two neat cuts opened on his palms where the runes had flowed out, and blood was oozing out from them in a slow stream, as if it had bled all it could up to now. Link didn't answer Allen's calls; he was lying still, so still…

"Link…?"

… As softly as a drop of morning drew falling on the water's surface, a distant sound came tapping on Allen's blank mind. The boy opened his eyes to find himself standing alone in darkness. Bewildered, he looked up and found above him a circle from which white light came down in a flux. He would have thought that he was trapped in a well; but under his feet there was no water, and when he extended his hand, he didn't feel any wet, mossy wall.

Then he heard that weak sobbing sound again, and he turned his head from side to side, looking for the source. It was a boy, a little boy with blonde hair that was mercilessly cropped into short, straight bangs. He was walking away from the light source, sobbing into the sleeves of the crimson red cloak that was so large it dragged behind him.

Allen acted without even thinking. He ran after the child, calling out, "Hold on!"

The little boy spun around, green eyes wide in confusion. Not answering, he simply stood still and watched as Allen got closer. He hastily wiped away his tears with his sleeves when Allen knelt in front of him and asked, "Hey… Why are you crying…?"

The boy swallowed his hiccups and fought to calm himself. He lifted his hand, gesturing towards the black void that he was walking towards, and only spoke when there was no hint of tears left in his voice. "They are summoning me…" he said, "But I don't want to go there…"

"Well… you don't have to."

"But I do." He shook his head. "I can't go back… There's no way for me to go back…"

"It's not true, you can go back. I-I can show you the way."

The little boy stared at Allen's offered hand then looked up at him. "… It's not too late to go back?"

Allen smiled warmly, "No, it's never too late."

The little boy stared at him for awhile with unblinking, questioning eyes before making his decision. Hesitantly, he placed a slender hand in Allen's. They stood like that for a moment, and then, a little smile bloomed on the boy's face. He tugged on Allen's sleeve for attention, and then gesturing towards the ring of light above them, he whispered, "Look."

Allen turned around and saw a black bird hovering in the feeble flux of light. At first, it spiraled hesitantly, but as the light intensified, the flapping of its wings became more and more confident. Finally, it soared upwards, disappearing into the brightness that envelopped it.

---

It was not a quiet morning by any means.

"Walker, if you do not eat the asparagus as well as the pork, you will not get the proper nutrients."

"All right, all right-"

"Please do not tell me you're having dango for breakfast, too."

"Oh, Link, _please_! I'm eating pretty much _everything _here, so I'm sure will get all the nutrients I need. Mind you, if Matron sees you out here eating nothing but cakes, she sure will have a fit."

"Don't try to threaten me. Matron always overdoes things anyway."

"You're just stingy. And everyone is staring at you. Seriously, I can't understand why you insisted on getting that haircut-"

"Don't start, Walker."

They fell silent for a while. Just a while. Yes, it sure wasn't a quiet morning, but it was normal. Normal as it used to, and should be.

Placing the filled tray on the table, Allen postponed his attack on the food to take yet another clear look at Link. It was amazing how Link had fully regained his composure in such a short time. The facial expression as well as the look in his eyes showed no sign of the experiences that had seemed to destroy him. Now he once again walked with his head held high, his eyes looking straight forward and his brows slightly knitted together to give him that serious, no-nonsense expression. His hair had neatly been cut short and there was no visible hint of whether he was planning to grow it out again or not. He wasn't wearing his uniform; the dark fabric of his turtleneck sweater contrasted sharply with his still pale skin.

Allen was also surprised that he enjoyed Link's "return," and deliberately forgot the fact that Link wasn't his watcher anymore for the moment. Link had been temporarily suspended from his duty as an Inspector. He had to attend to countless trials and questionings, as well as experiments to make sure the Skulls' spell had been completely removed. Those activities wore him out both physically and emotionally, but he never showed it. But then again Allen thought these were just a matter of form, since not even Leverrier could bend the truth about what happened. Also, it wasn't like the Inspector was that eager to push his loyal pupil into a dead-end.

Even so, Allen knew he still couldn't relax yet. There was no telling what Central was really up to. He felt thankful to Komui; the Supervisor was definitely on his side and fought in his own way to protect everyone, including Link (even though he still labeled him "Central's hound"). The Supervisor had promised to do his best to make sure things went back to the way they had been. Thinking about Komui reminded Allen of the warmth and assurance the man knew to create, and he suddenly felt the urge to try pulling some of the Supervisor's tricks.

"Link?"

"Hm?"

"Welcome home."

"Ah." The corner of Link's lips rose into the slightest of smiles. "Yes, I'm home."

"It's not over yet, you know."

"I know."

"We're, like, in a lot of trouble."

"I'm quite aware of that."

"We attacked the Third Exorcists and destroyed the building-"

"I did."

"_I _did. You only helped."

"Well, you also cried like a baby and wiped your snot on me."

"Link!"

"It's true. And it was disgusting."

"I don't see your _point_! Should I remind how much you acted like a baby yourself?"

"… It doesn't matter."

Allen rested his chin on his hand and looked thoughtful, "… Hey, Link?"

"Yes?"

"It's such a mess."

"I know it is."

"Do you think that we can pick up the pieces and make things right again?"

The Inspector looked out the window, squinting slightly. His green eyes glittered as they caught the sunlight. "… Why not? I believe we can. All will be well. Someday."

---

_Now the story's played out like this,_

_Let's rewrite an ending that fits._

_Nothing's wrong, just as long as you know that someday I will._

_Someday, somehow,_

_I'm gonna make it all right_

_But not right now._

_I know you're wondering when._

_(_From_ Someday – Nickelback)_

END.

**A/N: **So that's it, folks, the ending! Thank you all for your support, and thanks for reading til the end! Now that you've finished reading, please tell me what you think. Everyone who have read but haven't submitted a review, please, let me see your faces? Love? Hate? Too common? Just tell me what you think, I'll appreciate every single word of you.

I'll be considering uploading a full version of this fiction on my deviantArt site, for printing and/or storage purposes. You can also check my gallery for Link fan art *shameless advertising* The address is smilingmask (dot) deviantart (dot) com.

I will see you very soon at my next Link-centric fiction, **Dark Wings**. Due to my beta being busy, I can't upload it as soon as I want. So, if you enjoy Someday, then, keep your eyes opened!

With deepest gratitude.


	12. A simple AN

And I'm just here to apologize…

A/N: Hey, guys, sorry for this possibly useless bump. I just felt that I had to tell you the news. So you know I'd been running around doing shameless advertising for my new Link/Allen fan fic, Dark Wings and what not. But the truth is that, after finishing uploading Someday, I was stuck at a key point of the story's development, and had to wait for the release of chapter 187. When it came out… Well, you can figure out. All my plan shattered and the story had no way to go but straight to the trash can. I feel sorry for those who had added me to their Author Alerts in waiting for that fic, because it will never come.

So that's it. I'm sorry folks. D: I could have tried to continue writing if Hoshino-sensei hadn't been such a queen of despair. Anyway, if you want to read what I'd managed so far, you can contact me add kallmeten-chan (at) yahoo (dot) fr. Or MSN pheromone.13 (at) hotmail (dot) com. There.

Sorry again for this sorry excuse of a bump.

Oh but please look forward for some Vocaloid angst. 3 *is officially a Kaito freak*


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